Posts Tagged ‘driver’

Formula One: Sebastian Vettel Wins an Historic Italian Grand Prix

The latest Grand Prix at Monza was much more than a simple race, the competition delivered some of the most incredible results expected in the Formula One history as the young German driver Sebastian Vettel conquered the Italian race victory winning over the people’s favorites McLaren’s Hamilton and Ferrari’s Massa. It was indeed a very mediocre performance coming from the Ferrari team especially if we take into account they were racing in their home land.

With only 21 years of age the German driver was replacing Robert Kubica of the BMW team for the time being. Vettel broke Fernando Alonso’s record of the youngest driver to win a grand prix, as he was already 22 when he won in Hungary back in 2003.

It had been a long time since the Italian and German flags waged together in a podium. Last time was when the former Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher (who won a total of 72 victories for Ferrari) triumphed at Monza and now Vettel wins the grand prix for a renowned Italian carmaker, Toro Rosso, while also driving a Ferrari vehicle.

At the time when the Spaniard Fernando Alonso left the McLaren team, Vettel and Nico Rosberg became possible prospects in the new drivers’ list. But it was not until Vettel’s recent debut, only last year in the United States, when he replaced Kubica due to a car crash in Canada the teams came to an agreement and Vettel became part of Toro Rosso.

Before the last race, Toro Rosso was the ninth team in the Formula One rankings followed by Force India and Super Aguri. Despite the money invested and the improvements made to the vehicles the Italian manufacturer has not yet found a way to a steady development. After Monza Toro Rosso moved up to the sixth position with a total of 27 points.

At Monza the whole scenery was a surprise; from the rain to the formation in the pole position to Vettel’s victory and the advantages he converted to his favor turned him into the sixth different driver to win a Grand Prix during the 2008 World Championship.

Vettel’s flawless driving from the beginning was amazing despite having to change his tires, he just became unstoppable and either Hamilton or R?ikk?nen had the opportunity to rise to the podium this time; while Felipe Massa arrived in the same position in which he left the number sixth. R?ikk?nen also faced several problems with the tires’ temperature and he was just not able to overcome his rivals.

On the other hand, McLaren’s second driver Heikki Kovalainen had a more favorable position but he could not surpass Vettel in pace neither in talent as the young speed master basically flew. Vettel’s future seems very bright as it is likely he will begin to receive offers from the other teams as this year’s Formula One Season comes to an end and a new champion will rise to the podium.

F1: Singapore Grand Prix – a Glorious Victory for Fernando Alonso

The Spaniard Renault’s driver Fernando Alonso just conquered his first Formula One Grand Prix win of the year after his win at the Singapore race held last Sunday. Alonso’s chances were very low as the previous day his vehicle was damaged and this situation positioned the driver in the fifteenth place for the race starters.

It had been more less a year since Fernando Alonso had not win a race in the Formula One calendar as his last one had been on September 9th, 2007 at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza. This time at the first night race in Singapore, Alonso arrived first timing 1:57:16:304 taking the podium as he did many other times before. In second place arrived the Williams’ driver, the German Nico Rosberg at 2:957 and in third place the leading McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton with 5:917.

Last Sunday the two times world champion achieved his 50th podium appearance in his Formula One professional career. The Spaniard’s come back took approximately 385 days and a total of 19 races before holding a grand prix title. On the other hand, for the Renault team, which is Alonso’s group for this year’s campaign the non-winning streak, summed up 31 races.

As Alonso began the race in the 15th position he had to take some risks and changed his strategy, which he did, we witnessed how he only took two stops and went very low of fuel before making the longest stop. Just at the starting line he won three places right away which became less as in the fourteen lap his teammate Nelson Piquet faced an accident in the safety car exit.

The race development began to change radically the panorama as Alonso was in a more favorable situation, as he was the only one that had passed by the pits to refuel and had a free road to move forward. The German Nico Rosberg (Williams-Toyota) and the Polish Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber) were the first to stop a move that cost them the race.

During the 34th lap, the Spaniard took the competition leadership and once at the lead Alonso avoided all possible surprises. He did stop a second time but he managed a distance to allow him to return to the leading pack.

After this race, Lewis Hamilton leads the Formula One world championship with seven points more than the Brazilian Felipe Massa (Ferrari), and a total of 84 points. On the other hand, the South American Massa saw his chances ruined as his team failed in the first refueling. He resumed the race without enough fuel and had to break in for a second stop in the pits zone. It was Massa’s worst nightmare as he began in pole position and finished last with no points.

The Polish Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber) ended in the eleventh position at 20 points of the leader followed by the Finnish Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) with 57 points.

Formula One Hungary Grand Prix – the Speed Race Continue

The Hungary Grand Prix is one of the races scheduled in the Formula One calendar and it was first held in 1936 in Budapest. Nevertheless, for a period of approximately 50 years the competition did not take place due to the unstable situation the country was going through. It was until 1986 that this Formula One event took place once again in the Eastern part of Europe.

The Budapest track has a circuit length of 2,722 miles or 4,381 kilometres while the race itself has a length of 306,66 kilometres for a total of 70 laps. In Hungary the driver who has achieved the most wins was the all-time favourite Michael Schumacher in 1994, 1998, 2001, and 2004 while the last Formula One driver to win at this circuit was the British Lewis Hamilton who managed a time of 1:19:674

The Hungaroring as it is often referred to as one of the most difficult tracks for the Formula One drivers due particular characteristics such as: being very narrow and oblique which make it very difficult to surpass and take the advantage. Next August 3rd another race will take place at this track and the real action is expected as the top three drivers continue to battle for extra points in the world championship race to obtain this year’s title.

Last year’s Hungarian champion Lewis Hamilton who currently leads the drivers’ board with 58 points total does not feel very comfortable yet to speak about his future performance with this next task, despite his previous two victories at Silverstone and Hockenheim. The McLaren driver has been able to place himself at the top in front of the two Ferrari drivers Massa and current world champion Kimi Raikkonen who are in second and third place respectively.

In spite of Lewis’ prudent silent in this regards the predictions point out that the young Britton was once again able to take control of his driving possibilities and is living a lift which he can easily take advantage of during the next race…this could certainly be good for him as the more points he gains the better his ranking will be and the gap between the other drivers will become more visible.

“I’m wary about making any strong predictions; yes, we were strong in the last two races, but we encountered difficulties in the two before that, so it’s impossible to call it,” noted Hamilton. “All I can say is that our car feels fantastic at the moment and I’m really enjoying driving it.

All three drivers Massa, Raikkonen and Lewis are very aware that the Hungaroring or Budapest track is a completely different scenario from what they faced last in Germany, for this one a pit strategy is required and all drivers will have to show their finest skills in order to take the lead from the beginning to have a clear turning otherwise it will turn into a desperately overpowering battle not easy to deal with which may end in an accident that we do not want to witness.

Regardless; it is very certain that we will enjoy the upcoming track while the top drivers continue the racing action to take their teams to the lead of the standings especially now that the season is more than half way through.